In other words, this is the first time anyone has developed a processor that can handle any set of instructions for more than one quantum bit or “qubit”. Rapid progress when you consider that the first single-task quantum processorfirst arrived on the scene less than a year ago.

The NIST team performed 160 different processing routines on the two qubits. Although there are an infinite number of possible two-qubit programs, this set of 160 is large and diverse enough to fairly represent them, Hanneke says, making the processor “universal.” The researchers used a random number generator to select the particular routines that would be executed, so all possible programs had an equal chance of selection. The random programs avoided the possibility of bias in testing the processor in the event that some programs ran better or produced more accurate outputs than others. Each program operated accurately an average of 79 per cent of the time across 900 runs, each run lasting about 37 milliseconds. To evaluate the processor and the quality of its operation, NIST scientists compared the measured outputs of the programs to idealised, theoretical results.

The programs did not perform easily described mathematical calculations. Rather, they involved various single-qubit “rotations” and two-qubit entanglements. As an example of a rotation, if a qubit is envisioned as a dot on a sphere at the north pole for 0, at the south pole for 1, or on the equator for a balanced superposition of 0 and 1, the dot might be rotated to a different point on the sphere, perhaps from the northern to the southern hemisphere, making it more of a 1 than a 0.

Huh? Yeah, it’s a bit confusing, but you can get the basic idea by checking out our Giz Explains on the subject. Just know that programming with multiple qubits is a major turning point in creating the truly “super” computers of tomorrow. [NIST and Ars Technica]

But because of the fact that the laws of quantum mechanics are so strange, the qubits (atoms) can be placed into a “superposition of multiple states” in order for them to store more than just the standard amount of information.

Now they’re working on adding more qubits, which adds more power on an exponential scale. We’re going to be Giz Explaining what’s up with quantum computing soon. [TGDaily]

A team at the University of Maryland was able to successfully teleport a quantum state (like spin or polarisation) from one atom to another over the distance of one meter. How they did it is incredibly complicated: the explanation sounds like half advanced physics and half existential philosophy (i.e. “each photon is in an unknowable superposition of states”). But the end result is that the information doesn’t travel the distance between the two atoms. It merely appears at the second and disappears from the first.

The tech is still very young, so there isn’t much speculation on, say, when I can stop taking that awful 14-hour bus from Philly to Montreal in favour of teleporting. But it is suggested that this kind of instant transfer of information could be useful in mass exchanges of data, like the Internet. [Live Science]

When intruders do try to hack a quantum exchange, photons in the network become scrambled and the rise in the error rate causes that line to get shut down. The exchange is then automatically rerouted through a different node so that the sender and receiver remain in continuous secure contact. Scientists are currently trying to market it to banks and other holders of sensitive information.

Is it really unbreakable though? Hard to say. Currently there aren’t any methods to fully eavesdrop on information while avoid detection, but researchers at MIT were able to nab about 40% by reading the momentum of photons. I can bet that hackers will be all over this, now that the scientists have more or less issued a direct challenge for them to try. [BBC]

The team has created a silicon chip that can control and observe a single electron. What makes that useful? Well, according to Susan Angus, who’s leading the scientific team, “Building a quantum computer involves perfect control of the most fundamental properties of our universe. Controlling and observing individual electrons is an important step towards that goal.” Being able to control individual electrons gives some of that control.

Instead of using binary to transfer information, Quantum computers will use quantum physics, which (from my very, very limited understanding), lets information be transferred even when the computer is switched off.

If you’re struggling to get your head around the idea, you’re not alone. However, the guys at Science in Public have a pretty good grasp on the whole situation, so it’s definitely worth a trip on the link express to try and gain some insight into why this is important.

[Science in Public - Thanks Niall!]

US scientists have developed an atom trap, a device that can hold hundreds of atoms in a 3D optical lattice array, which they say is an important stepping stone to one day building a bona fide quantum computer.

From the article:

In the past, researchers have used optical lattices to trap millions of atoms. “The difference in what we’re doing in this apparatus is that we have a large array where we can observe each individual atom,” Weiss says. Until now, the only lattices where individual atoms were visible were one-or two-dimensional arrays, and contained only a handful of atoms.

In the new study, though, the team used three lasers arranged at right angles to create a 3D lattice in which they trapped 250 atoms of cesium.

I look forward to the day we break reality wide open with a freaky quantum computer. I’ve heard stories that, in theory, a quantum computer can be set to perform tasks even when they’re turned off… or that quantum computers across all possible realities of said computers could come to deliver power far in excess of the single computer… my brain hurts… -Seamus Byrne

Atom trap is a step toward a quantum computer [New Scientist]

As you can see in the picture here, you’re instructed to “never remove protective foils!” You never know, the time/space continuum could get a rip in it, you might open up a black hole … who knows what? We want to pay the $197 just to remove the protective foil and see what happens. This looks like fun, but for about $190 less, you could get yourself the same thing in a package of Nothing. – Charlie White

Product Page [Harmony United Ltd., via Red Ferret Journal]